Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft (SIK-ISEA)

The Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA) was founded in 1951 as a centre of competence in art history and art technology. The core activities are research, documentation, the dissemination of knowledge and the provision of services in the world of the fine arts. The focus lies with the production of art in Switzerland from the Middle Ages until the present day.

The headquarters of SIK-ISEA are housed in Villa Bleuler in Zurich, built in 1885–1888 to a design by Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli. The Institute maintaines a branch in francophone Switzerland at the University of Lausanne and an «Ufficio di contatto» for Italian-speaking Switzerland at the Museo Vincenzo Vela in Ligornetto.